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AAA looks to acquisition for growth

WINNEPEG, Manitoba - Fresh off the completion of its acquisition of Alarm All Inc. for $1.6 million earlier this year, AAA Alarm Systems, a subsidiary of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., is looking for more opportunities to add to its growing customer base.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“We are certainly a growing company, and weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve been looking at acquisitions as one method of being able to expand in our existing territories as well as in new territories,Ã¢â‚¬Â said Russ Friesen, general manager of AAA.

The acquisition of Alarm AllÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s central station and customer base grew out of a relationship AAA had fostered with the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s previous owner, Friesen said.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“Over the period of years, through building a good relationship with the owner there, we were able to persuade him to allow us to take over the Alarm All group of customers,Ã¢â‚¬Â he said. Ã¢â‚¬Å“We introduced the idea that should he ever be interested in selling out, weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d be pleased and honored to have a shot at that base of high-quality customers they had built.Ã¢â‚¬Â

While Alarm AllÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s roughly 2,000 monitoring customers represented a relatively small acquisition for AAA, it was significant in other ways, Friesen said.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“Alarm All has a great presence in western Manitoba and the result is further consolidating and reinforcing our presence in that part of the territory,Ã¢â‚¬Â he said.

As a full-service provider with customers in every province in Canada, AAA provides installation services for residential and commercial customers, sales and service, in addition to its monitoring arm. In recent years, the company has acquired a technology provider and an installation company.

Friesen said the Alarm All acquisition shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be his companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s last as it scours the landscape for potential buys.

Ã¢â‚¬Å“We look for acquisitions of all sizes and types. Because we have an ongoing project to continue to look for and acquire good customer bases, there are certainly companies that weÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re talking with at the time,Ã¢â‚¬Â he said. At press time, Friesen declined to identify those companies, saying any talks were only in the preliminary stage at press time.